


Stuck with You

by longhairshortfuse



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Difficult Decisions, Fluff, M/M, implied gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-01 22:51:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2790626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/longhairshortfuse/pseuds/longhairshortfuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cecil finds a door.<br/>He goes through to visit Carlos, but Carlos isn't the only lost creature in the otherworld.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Right Kind of Door

Carlos read his email again just to make sure.  
 _Hi Carlos, I think I found a door. I posted a photograph of it on Tumblr, go look and comment if you think it's real or not. Call me when you can, miss you xxx_  
He called right away but got no answer. That was not unusual, Cecil could be asleep or in the shower or taking his turn bowling or broadcasting. He would try again and again until he got an answer. For now he made do with leaving a brief _Hi it’s me, miss you too, I’ll call back later_ message and looking at Cecil's Tumblr. Among the pictures of woodcarvings, fake horoscopes for Aquarius (existentially challenged) and Taurus (usually something cute or a gentle hint to talk more or look after himself better) and Scorpio (always insulting), Carlos found himself tagged in a post that contained a photograph of a door, caption "?". He reblogged it, adding _Might be, need a closer look._

Carlos called Cecil whenever he remembered until Cecil was able to answer. Cecil sounded upbeat.  
“Carlos! I saw your comment. Do you think it is a door? The right kind of door?”  
“I can’t tell from a picture, Cecil, can you go there and I’ll call you back?”  
“You are staying on that phone! I can go there, just don’t hang up. I will be driving but you can still talk to me, right? You still there? Carlos? I'm super excited!”  
“I’m still here, Cecil, I can just about hear you over the engine noise, you got your car serviced yet? It must be due.”  
“OKAY!”  
Carlos listened as Cecil drove, talking excitedly at full volume all the way. 

Carlos eventually heard the car silenced and a _thunk_ as the door opened then closed.  
“I’m nearly there, it’s a bit back from the road on John Peters youknowthefarmer’s land. He found it yesterday and called me right away. I’m walking out to it now. So, what have you been doing in the desert?”  
Carlos smiled at the familiar question.  
“Oh, you know…”  
“… sciiience?” Cecil laughed and Carlos joined in. After a few more minutes of smalltalk, mostly from Cecil, “Oh, I see it. Carlos? Should I open the door?”  
Carlos almost shouted. “No! Be careful, you don’t know what is on the other side. Umm, can you walk around it? Is it visible from all angles?”  
“Yes… oh! No. It vanished when I got around the back. There is a one sided old oak door with a brass handle in the middle of a field.”  
“Okay. Stay on the line, stay as far back as you can comfortably reach, and open the door just an inch or two and close it again. Tell me what you observe.” 

There was a pause, a shuffle, a clearing of the throat and a slow soft creak. Carlos held his breath until he heard a click and Cecil’s voice safe on the other end of the phone.  
“I saw sand, Carlos, it was kind of pink. Different to the ground I’m standing on currently.”  
“Did you see anything else or hear anything or smell anything?”  
“No, just pink sand. But I did what you said, I opened the door just an inch for just a moment and stood well back. Carlos?”  
“Mmhmm?”  
“Are you worried something else might come back through into Night Vale? Like those masked warriors? Or... something else?” 

Carlos thought quietly for a few seconds.  
“No, it is unlikely. The masked warriors are home here and apart from the armies that crisscross the desert, I think there is only me here. Okay, Cecil? I want you to take a better look. Stand a little closer and open the door wider and for longer. Crouch behind the door if you can and try to get a good look. Look for any features I might be able to use to find you, like for instance a lighthouse on a mountain or a deep canyon with signs pained on the walls or… anything.”  
Carlos heard more shuffling and another creak.  
“Okay, the sand is very fine looking, not rocky like it is here. There is no mountain, no canyon, nothing really. Flat, pink sand.”  
“Oh.” Carlos scratched his head. “That will make it difficult to find you. Unless… oh!”  
“Carlos? Are you okay?”  
“Sshh, I am on the point of having an idea but… yes!”  
“Carlos?”  
“Cecil? How good is the battery life on your phone? I want you to enable the location settings and put your phone as close to the open door as you can without putting it in this desert. I might be able to find your phone with mine. We will have to hang up to do it but I’ll call you back as soon as I can after.” 

Carlos made another promise to call Cecil right back then ended the call, opened his _find friends_ app and sat down to wait. There was no map, but after a moment another dot appeared on the screen. He got up and walked around, holding out his phone and peering at the screen until the dot was ahead of him. Carlos grinned and started to walk forwards, keeping his screen in front of him the whole time.  
The dot vanished after a couple of hours of desert-time.  
Carlos called Cecil but got voicemail.  
 _Hey Cecil, I guess your battery ran out. I found out which direction to walk but there’s no map so I don’t know how far away you are. Can you come back to the door and try again. Cecil? Even just the thought of being able to see you again is… well. I will keep walking and checking my phone for your signal.”_  
Carlos walked until his legs tired and he had to stop. 

Cecil cursed his phone battery life and his lack of in-car charger kit. He had to go home to recharge his phone. Four hours later, he was back at the door with a full battery and a bag of supplies, not even sure that Carlos would be awake or not engrossed so deep in science that he forgot everything else. He opened the door carefully, then threw it wide.  
“CARLOS!”  
The figure curled up in the sand did not stir. Cecil wondered if he was mistaken, perhaps it was a rock. A whitish, sandy coloured rock with a dark bit at one end.  
“CARLOS! CAAA-RRR-LLOOO-S!”  
No response. Cecil looked around. The ground was stony, no use for even imaginary corn. He picked up a handful of small stones and threw them at the shape he could see through the door. The shape curled up tighter for a moment, reached out a hand to investigate the small objects that had just embedded themselves in the sand around it, and sat up, frowning.  
“CARLOS! OVER HERE!”  
The figure bolted upright and started running towards him.  
“Cecil? CECIL! Ohmygods Cecil, There’s no door here but I can see you!” 

Carlos ran to Cecil but stopped a few feet away.  
"I slept in the sand. I probably stink."  
"Come here."  
Cecil held his arms out. Carlos bounded within reach, arms out expecting a hug that didn't happen. As Carlos approached, the air around Cecil appeared to waver, making a mirage of him, and a low hum came from all around, working its way deep into his ears. Carlos stepped back, the hum receded and Cecil looked normal again.  
"Carlos? What just happened? You kind of wobbled and vanished, the doorway went dark."  
Carlos sighed. "I think I am not allowed to pass through. I got too close and the door tried to dematerialise or something but it couldn't because you held it open."  
"Oh. How close can you get?"  
For the next few minutes, Carlos edged gradually closer to Cecil until the humming became noticeable and Cecil flickered at the edges again. 

"Cecil, stay on your side of the door and see if you can reach through."  
Cecil stretched an arm out to Carlos. Carlos reached out to Cecil, ignoring the flickering and the hum, until their fingers touched. They both snatched their hands back briefly before reaching out again. Cecil grasped Carlos's hand firmly.  
"I think this is it, Cecil, if I get closer you start to vanish."  
"And you go dim."  
They both sat down, holding hands.  
"So. What did you do in the desert today?"  
"Oh, you know..."  
"Sciiiience?" 

Carlos laughed until he realised he was crying. Cecil gripped his hand harder.  
"Sorry. I miss you, it's so good to see you properly."  
Cecil smiled.  
"It's good to see you, Carlos. Maybe if I prop the door open I could step through and..."  
"NO! no, Cecil," Carlos shook his head. "What if you end up stuck here too? Stuck with me? There's no radio station, your listeners need you."  
"I could though."  
Cecil carefully shuffled closer, He still sat in John Peters's barren field but both hands and one foot were in the desert with Carlos. He shuffled towards Carlos a little more and the door creaked and swung on its hinges.  
"Stop, Cecil. I want to be with you, but not like that. I want you to have the choice." 

"Carlos, I do have the choice."  
Cecil shuffled back until the door settled. He took out his phone and sent a text, and he hesitated about this, to his sister's husband. He stood up, making Carlos stand too, picked up his bag and stepped through the door straight into Carlos's arms. When he looked behind him, there was a solid oak door with no handle, surrounded by a shimmering patch of air. Everywhere else he looked was featureless pink sand apart from a hazy shape in the distance that might have been a mountain. He closed his eyes . 

"Carlos?"  
"Mmmf?"  
"You did invite me to visit. I can do my show from here. I can phone it in to Maureen, she can patch me through to the transmitter."  
"Mmmhmm."  
"Carlos?"  
"MMmmf?"  
"You can let go now. I will be here for a while. I brought you a clean lab coat."  
Carlos grinned as he finally let Cecil out of his embrace.  
"I have so MUCH to show you!" 

Steve looked at his phone, frowning. _Found a door, John Peters yktf knows where it is. Come and open it for me when I need you. I'll text when I'm ready to come back. Cecil_

Carlos was wrong about one thing. As Cecil and Carlos walked away hand in hand towards the distant mountain, another figure, neither tall nor short nor fat nor thin, slipped over the sand and sat waiting for the door to open. 


	2. Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos shows Cecil around. Cecil is less than impressed.

Cecil and Carlos walked for hours across the desert, taking turns to carry Cecil's bag, lapsing into companionable silence. They walked until the terrain changed from fine, flat sand to rougher ground with rocky outcroppings and a gentle upward slope. Carlos squeezed Cecil’s hand and pointed at the mountain, now looming, imposing in their field of view.  
“Look, Cecil, we’re almost there. Rest here for a while?”  
“Yes please! I can record some material for my next show, you know, observations about this desert hellscape. Is it night time soon?”  
“Day and night don’t mean anything here. It gets dark sometimes but not with a twenty four hour cycle. I found it really difficult to sleep at first but I got used to it. There – that looks like a good spot to stop, see? Over by those rocks? It’s not a cave exactly but if I drape my lab coat over the top it might be dim enough.”  
Carlos made his den and they rested out of the light. Cecil unpacked his portable microphone and recorded his initial impressions of the desert, describing the landscape with a few words and Carlos with far more. Carlos giggled at Cecil’s descriptions and contributed when invited.

_Listeners, this is SO EXCITING! I got a call from John Peters, you know the farmer, to say he found another door. Of course my first thought was that my favourite scientist, Carlos, could come home at last. Although he said he is happy there because of all the science, I wanted to know if he was not, in fact, trapped with no hope of return. If there really was the right kind of door, I wanted to know if he would step back through, come home. For a visit or forever or... whatever. But you can't assume anything, right? I mean, just because an old oak door with brass door furniture appears without warning in the middle of an imaginary cornfield, that's no reason to jump to conclusions about where that door might lead._

_Imagine my delight, my excitement, listeners, when I found out that the door was real! Oh I can barely find words to tell you of the terror I felt when, under remote supervision of the desert hellscape's very best scientist, I cracked the door open and peered through from a prudent distance and saw the otherworldly desert. Again... I guess. I was there myself only briefly, passing through from my own dimension to another part of my own dimension, my studio, escorted by... beings who were totally not angels. I saw little of it, I admit, listeners. I have heard that discretion is the better part of valour, concealment is a form of discretion, so I valiantly hid my face until I knew I had reached my destination._

_Listeners? I can report this news: I found the door, Carlos found the other side of the door and we saw each other face to face, unconstrained by technology, for the first time in months! Oh my heart could have burst at the sight that met my eyes. His lab coat stained and dirty, his beautiful hair all wild, his perfect smile only a few feet away. Ah, listeners, Carlos could not approach the door. I could reach through and touch his hand, slight contact that made me wish for more, like the addict saying "just one" I knew it would not satisfy my craving._

_Listeners? I bring you this report from Carlos's side. For a critical moment I was as sure as I can be of anything that the door would admit me and wait for me to return home when I am ready. I am in the desert with Carlos! It is different from what I remember. The light is softer, the sand is softer, Carlos is somehow softer. Several months of studying the desert have given him a rest, a stillness borne of solitude, of being alone with his own thoughts and being... okay with that. Listeners? I am not sure I would have fared so well in his place. He is watching me and smiling as I speak. Carlos? Are you happy?_  
 _... Uh, I enjoy all the science. This is the most scienti..._  
 _Yes, we know that Carlos, thank you. But how do you feel? About being not-stuck-but-not-free-to-leave here?_  
 _... There's so much to do, Cecil, I have been too busy to think about how I feel. I am happy when I discover new things. I am happy you are here._  
 _Oh Carlos! I am happy to be here. Listeners? We are sheltering in a... a... I want to say cave but it is way less sophisticated than that. Carlos? Do you have a... a more permanent... I mean where do you live here?_  
 _...I have a tent near the mountain that I call... that I shelter in when I am not busy doing science. Doug made it for me. We can go there._  
 _Do you miss Night Vale?_  
 _...I miss you! But I am with you now._

Carlos was almost asleep with his head in Cecil’s lap by the time Cecil decided he was happy with his recording. Cecil stroked fingers through Carlos’s unruly mop, gently untangling and tutting. He reached into his bag and brought out a plastic bottle. He applied a small amount of liquid to his fingers and worked it into Carlos’s hair, easing out tangles. Carlos flinched and sat up.  
“Mmmf, ow! Cecil what are you doing?”  
“Untangling your hair. Relax, let me look after you.”  
Carlos smiled and settled back, eyes closed.  
“Mmm. This is nice. Thanks, Cecil.”  
“I missed this. You should learn to look after yourself better. I brought you a comb and a few other things, including this stuff and some of your favourite gum.”  
Cecil worked on the half of Carlos’s head that he could reach then instructed him to turn. Carlos did, letting Cecil finish his work. Eventually Cecil moved his hand to Carlos’s shoulder, stroking down his arm to his elbow.  
“Okay, done. You can sit up if you like.”  
“I missed this too, Cecil. Thanks.” Carlos did not sit up. Cecil resumed stroking fingers through hair now smooth and shiny again and mostly free of sand. Carlos smiled. “Mmm. Lying here reminds me of something else I have missed.”  
“Oh?” Cecil giggled at Carlos’s smirk. “That. Uh, Carlos? I don’t want to offend you but… um…”  
“It’s okay Cecil, scientifically I am aware that I have not had access to soap and water for quite some time, I am wearing the clothes I arrived in so I must stink in a very unsexy way. Anyway, we are both tired from walking.”  
Cecil smirked this time.  
"You think I only brought you hair conditioner?"

When they had rested for a while, Carlos led Cecil to his main home by the mountain. Cecil admired the structure Doug had built to keep the light out and the sand off the science equipment.  
"Doug and Alisha are great. I hope they pass by while you are visiting, I want them to meet you."  
"I'd like that. Are you going to show me the lighthouse?"  
"Yes, and the canyon if you want. Can you stay a while? I'd ask how many days before you have to go back but that doesn't mean much here where there is no sunrise or sunset. The sky goes dark sometimes and I can see stars but it's not exactly night because I have not worked out how to predict when it happens yet. I'm working on it. Alisha helps but they are quite happy with the unpredictability of it. It's like a reason to celebrate when the sky darkens, they're really into astronomy. Look, they helped me build this telescope."  
"Neat! Okay, want to see what I brought for you?"  
Carlos nodded. Cecil passed the bag over. Carlos took things out one at a time. He piled up the clean clothes and examined the personal hygiene products. He picked up the toothpaste, toothbrush, a half-litre bottle of water, shower gel, smiled at Cecil and said he would be back soon. He returned cleaner and carrying his clothes to find Cecil staring mournfully at the food he had unpacked. Carlos sighed and slipped an arm around Cecil's waist.  
"I miss feeling hungry. I love that you brought my favourite snacks but I have no desire to eat at all. Want to see the lighthouse?"  
Cecil hummed an agreement and laughed at the little sounds of pleasure that came from Carlos as he put on his clean clothes.

As Carlos led Cecil up the mountain, Steve stood in a field of imaginary corn and reached for a brass door handle.


	3. Out of the frying pan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve opens the door and lands himself with an unpleasant job.

Steve touched the door handle. He stood in the field with his hand on or near the door handle for a whole minute before he pulled the door open a little. He fell backwards as the door pushed him and a figure flew past, tripped and sprawled on the beige, cracked earth.  
“Cecil! Are you okay? You didn’t text but I came anyway in case you were stuck, Cecil? Are you hurt?”  
The figure trembled but lay prone, arms wrapped around its head, panting heavily. Steve closed the door and ran over, putting his hand on the figure’s shoulder. It flinched and Steve took his hand away.  
“Cecil! Cecil! Can you get up, buddy? I can carry you to my car and drive you if you’re injured and send someone to collect yours. Cecil? Can you hear me?”  
The figure’s breathing slowed and deepened. Its arms moved, it wriggled its knees up under it and pushed itself up. It knelt with its back to Steve, shaking and sobbing. Steve put an arm around its shoulders.  
“Hey buddy, you’re safe now. Wow that must have been a terrible place. Want me to take you home? Janice would love to see her Uncle Cecil.”  
“Yes please.”  
The figure turned. Steve pushed him away, mouth open and eyes wide.  
“You!”  


Steve wrenched the door open and grabbed the back of Kevin’s filthy shirt with one hand and hauled him, kicking and squirming, towards the unsettling gap in reality. Kevin shrieked.  
“NO! Nonono NO! Not back there, please, pleasepleaseplease no, oh no, please don’t, whatever I did to you please I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m so sorry…”  
Steve swore loudly and dropped the sobbing man on the ground. He curled up into himself and lay there, shaking his head and choking out _please don’t_ from time to time. Steve stood and watched the man at his feet, swore loudly again and closed the door.  
“You threatened my little girl.”  
The figure pulled itself tighter.  
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry please don’t put me back there please don’t”  
“Okay I won’t, but I can’t let you go either. You’ve caused far too much trouble. Get up, you’re coming with me.” Kevin lay still. Steve prodded him with a foot, resisting the temptation to kick. “GET UP!”  
Kevin uncoiled and skittered away from Steve on hands and feet, keeping a safe distance. He crouched in the earth. After a moment he stood and bolted, tripping and falling a few feet away. Steve walked over and picked him up, half led, half dragged the pathetic figure to his car. 

Steve drove Kevin around the outskirts of town, back out into the desert in the other direction. He stopped at a security gate and spoke to a scowling guard.  
"I brought you someone."  
The guard looked at the figure huddled in the passenger seat. Steve spoke to it.  
"Head up, Kevin, talk to the nice policeman."  
Kevin looked up and smiled. The Sheriff's Secret Police guard winced and addressed Steve.  
"Wait here, I have to call my boss."  
A few minutes later, Steve's car was surrounded by blue-clad figures. They dragged Kevin out of the car and into the low building that marked the entrance to the mineshaft. The guard put a hand on the car roof and leaned over to speak through the window.  
"Thanks for bringing him in. If he's useful you'll get him back."  
"Hey, I don't want him back!"  
The guard shrugged. "Finders keepers, man! You know that." 

Less than twenty four hours later, a van pulled up outside Steve's house and a figure tumbled out. Steve watched from the window as Kevin staggered to his door.  
"Hello stranger! They said you know me and will look after me. That is kind of you. See! I am smiling at the thought! Are you family? Or a friend of mine? They said I had an accident and lost my memory and it probably won't come back but that you would look after me until... Oh I can't remember. I overheard one of those nice people in blue say I have to be trained to do something. I don't know what but isn't it exciting! I have to be productive, I told them so, bad things happen when you're unproductive. Oh! that is adorable... "  
Kevin peered past Steve into the house. Steve quickly stepped out and closed the door, blocking Kevin's view.  
"Get in my car. I'm going to take you home."  
"I don't remember where home is. Do I live with people?"  
Kevin smiled, a grimace that made Steve shiver.  
"Go get in the car." Steve waited for Kevin to walk towards the dented Corolla by the kerb before opening the front door again. "Janice, honey, I have to go out for a while. I won't be too long. Don't open the door to anybody, okay?"  
Steve blew his daughter a kiss, grabbed his keys and pulled the door shut tight behind him, listening for the click of the lock. 

Steve drove Kevin out of town to the Peters farm. He pulled off the road next to Cecil's car.  
"Come on, out you get, we're going for a little walk."  
"Oh? That sounds nice. Where are we going?"  
"Nowhere much, just a walk then I'll show you how to get home. That's all. This way."  
Kevin followed Steve, close behind, making Steve speed up slightly. The door was no longer unattended. John Peters stood grumpily demanding of a blue balaclava clad figure that they remove themselves off his property and pay for the damage to his imaginary corn crop from their heavy boots. The door was surrounded by similar blue figures, facing alternately inwards and outwards. Two broke formation and approached Steve and Kevin, weapons half raised.  
"You can't send him back. Nothing is allowed through this door in either direction."  
"My brother-in-law is in there! You know him! Our Cecil! He has to come back for his radio show and you have to let him pass."  
"Mr Carlsberg, I assure you that nothing _else_ is going to enter or leave Night Vale via that door. Take him home and look after him," the guard nodded towards Kevin and raised their weapon slightly. "Someone will come by and tell you whatever you are allowed to know." 

Steve marched Kevin back to the car and got in. He drummed on the steering wheel for a moment before he started the engine.  
"Where are we going now? Your name is Mr Carlsberg. Your brother is called Cecil. Is he Cecil Carlsberg?"  
"No. Please stop talking. I need to think."  
"Cecil has a radio show. That's a good job. I know that like I know my name. Can we go visit Cecil at the radio station and listen to his show?"  
"No. Cecil is on the other side of that door, where you should be."  
"Oh? What's through the door? Those guards... the ones that helped me were very efficient."  
Steve sighed and drove. He stopped at an apartment block and led Kevin upstairs to a door. He looked under the mat, on top of the door frame and stuck his hand through the letterbox, fishing around for string. He found it and pulled his hand out. The spare key followed. Steve opened the door and pushed Kevin inside.  
"This isn't your place so look after it. You'll be safe enough here. Stay indoors and don't touch anything. Do you like TV? I bet they have Netflix."  
Kevin ignored the question. He stared at the photo frames on the shelf above the heater. He picked one up. "Mr Carlsberg, who are these people? Do I know them?"  
Steve flipped one of the photos face down and looked at the one Kevin held up. "That's Cecil, the other man is Carlos. This is their apartment. You can stay here while they are away."  
"Oh. Carlos is ugly. Cecil looks... do I know Cecil? Is there food? I have not eaten since... I don't remember."  
Steve pointed out the kitchen to Kevin and slipped the photo of Cecil and Janice into his pocket while Kevin's back was turned.  
"Okay I gotta go. I'll check on you later. Stay here, got that?" Kevin nodded and Steve left, locking the door behind him and pocketing the key. 

As Steve left Cecil's apartment block, two stern looking men went in, nodding briefly at him as they passed. He drove home reassured that Kevin would not be following him home to Janice. When he arrived, he found a blue-uniformed, shiny-badged woman sitting on his doorstep. She held out an ID card for him to inspect.  
"Mr Carlsberg, may we talk? Indoors?"  
Steve shrugged. "Would it make a difference if I refused?"  
"Not if you lived alone, Mr Carlsberg, then I would already be sitting in your living room. However, you have one assertive daughter. Has she thought about her future career?"  
"Leave her out of this _completely._ You do not speak to or about my little girl."  
The Sheriff's Secret Police Inspector shrugged. "As you wish, but give it some consideration. The job has good benefits, clear career progression, a secure contract, fairly decent pension. A girl could do worse."  
"Wait here."  
Steve went in. He found Janice in her room, praised her for not letting anyone in and established that she had at least an hour of homework to finish. 

The police officer got to the point.  
"Mr Carlsberg, we need you to look after that thi... Kevin. He gave us useful information about conditions in Desert Bluffs and," her voice dropped to a whisper, _"StrexCorp._ He was re-educated so easily he must have been through it even more times than Ce... umm a few times before. He can't remember his life at the moment but some memories may resurface. You... understand. You know what might be at stake here. If we get him stabilised, give him a new life, new motivation then send him back..."  
Steve stared, open mouthed.  
"Are you creating a mole? A double agent?"  
"The best kind. One they trust already. We retrain him, send him back to Desert Bluffs and let him do what he does best."  
"And that is?"  
"Make trouble. But we need you to integrate him into Night Vale's ways of thinking. Steve, Mr Carlsberg, make him want to help us. Make Night Vale feel like home. Until he's ready, I'm afraid he's stuck with you." 

Steve waited at the door until the inspector's car turned out of his street before going back indoors. Janice emerged from her room.  
"Can I come out now? Dad, you know it's pointless making me stay up there. I heard everything. Who's Kevin?"  
Steve sighed. "Okay hon, come down. You probably need to know a few things. Want a hand with the lift?"  
Janice was already halfway onto the platform and rolled her eyes at the offer. "Da-ad, I'm not such a little girl any more. We had that chat already, remember you promised to stop treating me like I'm eight?"  
"Sorry, I can't help it sometimes. You too grown up to go out for ice cream later?"  
Steve laughed at the way Janice's face lit up.  
"Come on, I have to tell you a story."  
"Oh? Does it have a happy ending?"  
Steve sighed again and shrugged. "Probably not." 


	4. Into the Fire

Kevin stood perfectly still in the middle of the kitchen for five minutes after he heard the door close and lock. He stood and listened to the silence, identifying all the sounds he could sense from the increasingly intrusive mains hum to the scratching of some creature that secretively lived in the walls. The kind but unfriendly man, Mr Carlsberg, was right. He felt safe here. There was a familiar feel to the place even though he knew he had never been here before. A presence he recognised.  
"Hello?"  
There was no reply. Kevin started a methodical search for information about this man, Cecil, whose apartment he inhabited. In the kitchen he determined that Cecil liked alcohol and ready meals. He popped the plastic on a dish that promised far more than it delivered and put it in the microwave. He moved on to the living room.  
Kevin studied each photograph, touching the faces and trying to remember if he knew who they were. The pictures of the man called Cecil made his head hurt. He ignored the _ding!_ from the kitchen and moved on to the bedroom. He riffled through clothing in the closet, breathing in a faint unfamiliar scent mixed with one he thought he might recognise, if only he could clear this damned headache.  
 _"That won't help you. Examining the past can help explain the present and predict the future, although they are all one to me and it bores me to predict what I can see clearly, but examining the present is not going to reconnect you with your past. This is not your present."_  
Kevin turned around, a full three-sixty spin, twice.  
"I know you! I know your voice. I can almost put a face to it! Oh come out and talk. I think I want to know you better."  
 _"I think you ought to see about the fire in the microwave first."_

As the smoke cleared, Kevin realised there was a grey figure examining him.  
"Have we met before? Your eyes seem familiar."  
 _"Yes, I am in your past. I am everywhere. Somewhere there is a memory, if you look hard enough you might find it. You saw me at a debate. You SAW me. Most don't but your eyes are... different. And you have lived in Night Vale before for a few weeks, not so very long ago. I did not reveal myself to you then, we could not have helped each other. But now we can. I have a suggestion. A proposition."_  
Kevin frowned. "I have no wish to be propositioned by someone I barely know!"  
 _"Listen carefully. You are Kevin. You are from Desert Bluffs. You have been re-educated to remove your memories but your basic nature remains the same. Your memory can return if you work at it. I will help you before they try to change that too, if you will help me."_  
"Why do you need my help? If you are everywhere can't you help yourself?"  
 _"I need human... human-ish help for a human problem. I am the rightful Mayor of Night Vale and between us we are going to get rid of the competition. In return I will help you to go home."_  
"To Desert Bluffs? Do I have family waiting for me there?"  
The grey figure wavered at the edges then firmed up. _"I do not exist in Desert Bluffs but I believe that there are people ... waiting for you. Yes, I am sure there are people who are keen to see you there."_

Kevin listened and asked questions as the Faceless Old Woman with the beautiful hazel eyes outlined her plan. She told him about the Sheriff's Secret Police and their plot to use him as a double-agent, how Steve Carlsberg hated him but was being forced to be welcoming to convince him that he belonged here in Night Vale, to convert him to their cause.  
 _"When their City Council-approved scheme fails, I step in and stir up unrest, with your help. The council members will flee like they usually do, leaving the false Mayor at my mercy. She will be gone in a day and I will take her place. I have seen it happen already. I have been waiting for you for this purpose."_  
Kevin had few questions. He did not remember Desert Bluffs at all but the name was comforting and he felt drawn to it. The beautiful woman with the long silver hair filled in details as he put another ready meal in the oven.  
After he ate, Kevin had only one question left.  
"When this is over and you are Mayor, how do I return to Desert Bluffs? To my own life"  
Hazel eyes blinked at him and crinkled at the corners.  
 _"There is no need to concern yourself with a trivial matter like that. There are people here who would be glad to see you safely escorted back to Desert Bluffs. I have heard and seen everything, remember."_

It did not take much to lure the two police officers into the apartment. It did not take Kevin long to persuade them that it would be a better use of their time to come in and watch TV, drink coffee and be comfortable rather than stand guard outside the door.  
The Beautiful Ageless Being had been right, he had few memories but his arms and legs remembered how much he enjoyed decorating. And he was so good at it. Kevin stood in the living room and admired his work, grinning from ear to ear. He wiped his face and sucked his fingers clean and fell on the floor clutching his head. He remembered a radio booth, a stern dark-haired woman he hated and... _kittens?_  
The warm, kind but firm voice spoke to him again.  
 _"You had a flashback, Kevin. You need to go to the radio station before you have too many more of those. You know what to do, you remember what to say?"_  
Kevin sat up as the pain eased.  
"Yes. I remember. Will you be there to help me if I need you?"  
 _"I will always be everywhere, Kevin."_  
"But not Desert Bluffs."  
 _"No, not there. But you had, or have, or will have, it confuses me sometimes. Anyway, there is someone you know or knew or will know in Desert Bluffs. Someone called Vanessa."_

The Faceless Old Woman began her whispering in important ears. Quietly at first then with more insistence as ideas took hold and spread. Soon she did not need to add any more fuel to her rumours, fear fed itself and grew. City Council members issued a statement from the road, apologising for their sudden but essential fact-finding visit to see how council expenditure was managed in coastal communities in southern California. Kevin reported with glee how the City Council failed Night Vale with its absence and how Mayor Cardinal should be replaced by the only sentient being who truly knew _everything_ that happened in Night Vale.  
Mayor Cardinal was, at that moment, lying unconscious in her gas-filled office in City Hall, while the building was evacuated and the Faceless Old Woman caused her door to jam shut, but her window to open. The last thing she heard was a hiss with the words underneath, _"What good is victory without the vanquished as a witness?"_  
Kevin continued to broadcast his show. His only real problem had been one difficult intern who lay in the producer's booth, slipping into unconsciousness with a bruise developing on the side of her head and a vague confusion about why Cecil had such weird eyes. 

Steve and Janice sat in the White Sands Ice Cream Parlour and stared at each other.  
"Dad, that's not Uncle Cecil. Uncle Cecil's show should be on. What's happening?"  
"Janice? We have to go. Remember how you keep telling me you're a young woman and not a little girl?" Janice nodded. "I need you to be a very brave young woman and wait here while I go to the radio station. Got your phone? Email your Uncle Cecil and tell him he needs to get back here right now."  
Janice nodded and took out her phone. Steve set off for the radio station. His attempt to be a hero was short lived. By the time he arrived, there was another presence roaring to be let in before he burned the doors down. Steve collected Janice and took her home. The Sheriff's Secret Police Inspector was already there, sitting at his kitchen table and drinking his coffee.  
"I thought I told you to look after Kevin."  
"Screw you. Screw re-education. You brought that _monster_ to my house and he was still... still... Get out of my house."  
"We lost two good officers because you were not prepared to serve your community. There will be repercussions, Mr Carlsberg."  
Steve said nothing. He stood holding the door open and gesturing at the woman to leave. 

Janice looked at her dad. He felt her eyes boring into him and caved.  
"Dad, we have to let Uncle Cecil know exactly what is going on at the station. And we have to let him back through that door."  
Steve hugged Janice.  
"I know hon. You door, me station?"  
"The other way round makes more sense, dad, I can hide easily and fire off emails faster than you can think. You can get out to the door more quickly."  
Steve started to protest but Janice sealed it.  
"If something awful happens because you were wasting time trying to protect me, then we're all fucked anyway!"  
"Janice! Don't you EVER use language like that again! Did Uncle Cecil teach you that word?"  
"No dad, it was Tamika. She said we shouldn't worry about words, just meanings. You got my meaning, right?" 

Steve kept the radio on in the car. Kevin's lies stirred the air. Steve saw Janice safely positioned so that she could see the station door and the five-headed dragon who was trying to burn through. Janice blew her dad a kiss and waved her phone.  
"Go on, Uncle Cecil needs you. I'll be fine."  
Janice sent off a snapchat, uploaded an image to Tumblr then sent Cecil an email before carefully wheeling herself out of hiding and heading for the station door.  
"Excuse me! Excuse me, sir!"  
 _ **WHAT How dare you interrupt my important work little girl!**_  
"It's just that if you want in you have to bleed on that stone." Janice pointed at the bloodstone by the entrance. "Fire won't help. I know because my Uncle Cecil brings me here sometimes."  
 _ **Does it have to be my blood or will yours do?**_  
Janice smiled, manoeuvred to the bloodstone, nicked herself with her girlscout hunting knife and opened the station door. Hiram stormed in. Janice followed, heading for Cecil's booth. 

Steve reached the door, surprised to find it abandoned. He risked his Corolla's suspension and John's wrath by driving over the field to the door. He wedged the door open with his car and waited. Before too long, two figures approached.


	5. Giants

The two figures loomed in the doorway and sank onto their knees. Two other, smaller, figures slid to the sand and jogged over to Steve.  
"Cecil! Buddy, you gotta get back to Night Vale. Oh hi Carlos! You look well, desert treating you alright?"  
"Hi Steve! Yeah, it's fine here. Plenty of science to do, you know, keeps me occupied."  
"Carlos! STee-eeve! I don't think we have time for chat. Janice's email and snapchat were pretty graphic. Where is Janice, by the way?"  
"I left her by the station, beside the building opposite..."  
Cecil reddened and almost leapt at the door. Carlos held him back.  
"YOU LEFT A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL WITH A FIRE BREATHING DRAGON AND A SMILING-GOD POSSESSED MANIAC?"  
"Uh, when you say it like that I guess it does sound kinda risky."

The two giants nodded at Carlos and embraced each other. One waited in the desert as the other squeezed through the door. Carlos approached the door too but stepped back quickly as it flickered and buzzed. He turned to Cecil and shook his head. They hugged and kissed before Cecil stepped back into his own reality.  
"I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you."  
"We'll be waiting. I love you too."  
Steve had already started the engine. Cecil got in and slammed the car door.  
"Uh, what about...? He won't fit in my car." Steve gestured with a jerk of his head.  
"That's Doug. He will follow us."  
Cecil explained that Janice's email and pictures arrived just after they had met the wandering army in the desert. He told Steve, between strong reprimands for abandoning Janice, that Doug and Alisha stopped off in Night Vale once before and enjoyed the local amenities and helped Dana out because she offered them a fight they had a chance of winning. Coming with Cecil to get the radio station back was a personal favour for Carlos because Carlos saved them from the smiling god.  
Steve thought about the likelihood of Janice being a good little girl and staying in the safe spot he chose for her, and drove faster.

Steve stopped outside the station. Janice was nowhere in sight. Cecil almost fell out the car in his haste to get into the station. The doors hung from their hinges and smoke belched from inside. He ran, head down, straight for his studio, his peripheral vision taking in briefly, but his human brain not allowing him to comprehend, the image of Hiram facing down Station Management. A roaring blast of heat followed by billowing smoke spurred him onwards into the twisting bowels of the building where his studio nestled.  
Janice and Intern Maureen sat on the floor of Maureen's booth. Janice administered first aid and expanded her vocabulary as Maureen described how Kevin walked in with his hood up and most of the interns assumed it was Cecil back from his trip and in a mood. Maureen said she knew right away but he was surprisingly fast.  
"I could see him, see through him to the void inside. Janice, he's terrifying but we can beat him. He has isolated the soundboard so I can't shut him down from here. I have to get inside the studio with him."  
"That's too dangerous, Maureen he can kill! We should wait for help. Dad and Uncle Cecil are coming. We should wait for them."  
Maureen fixed Janice with a glare.  
"Seriously? You would wait for _Cecil_ to rescue you? Who would you trust in a fight? I bet your dad can hold his own but I'd rather put money on those..." Maureen pointed at Janice's hands, reached under the desk and pulled out a baseball bat, "...and this." She shrugged and grinned. "I got this in case Station Management decided to renegotiate my employment terms before I had enough college credits to quit in style. You know how to use that, right?"  
Janice took the weapon from Maureen and grinned back at her.  
"You betcha!"

Cecil arrived at his studio as Kevin left it in a hurry, pursued by a baseball-bat-wielding maniac in a wheelchair propelled at terminal velocity by an angry lady. Maureen yelled at him on the way past.  
"WE GOT THIS, YOU GET IN THERE!"  
He nodded and swung into his seat, calmed his breathing and spoke.  
 _Listeners? I apologise for the interruption to our usual programme schedule. Be assured, be as sure as it is possible to be in an unsure reality, that we will be back to whatever passes for normal very soon. Right now, let me take you all very gently to the_[weather](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h__B0WSV3KY) 

Cecil flicked a switch and left the studio, catching up with Maureen and Janice in time to see Kevin running out of the building and being scooped up, screaming, by Doug. Cecil smiled and backtracked, looked down the admin corridor to the Station Management office. He couldn't make out what was going on inside the office, but in the corridor Hiram alternately blasted out fire from his blue and green heads while his gold head explained his opinions of both NVCR political impartiality and its security. Grey head and violet head both winked and smiled at Cecil in a way that made him uncomfortable then bickered quietly at each other. Cecil ran outside. Doug held Kevin by his clothing, dangling him off the ground like a puppet. Steve hugged Janice and ushered her into the car before attempting to hug Maureen too, but settling for an awkward handshake.

Another figure strode across the street to join them. It was Dana. She looked up.  
"Doug! It's so lovely to see you again! Are you well? How is Alisha? I see you have Kevin. I've been on the phone to the new owners of StrexCorp in Desert Bluffs. They are _really keen_ to get their Voice back. There will be a special welcoming party waiting to receive him and make sure he gets an appropriate reward for his part in their own problems. Can you take him? You will have the backup of a couple of... " Dana dropped her voice to a whisper and looked sideways at Cecil, "... angels."  
Doug nodded, tightened his grip on the squirming figure in his hand and set off at a run.

"Buddy? If it's all the same to you I'm taking Janice home. Welcome back! I'd hug you but..."  
"No... no don't do that. Please don't do that again. Urgh... thanks. But really, leaving a THIRTEEN year old girl to deal with that MONSTER? STEVE CARLSberg you are a JE..."  
"UN-CLE-CE-CIL!"  
"Oh, hi Janice. I forgot what big ears you have."  
"Uncle Cecil, as my dad has accepted, I'm not a little girl any more and if I decide to get Maureen to push me at full speed down a corridor while I swing a baseball bat at someone who is threatening my town, I'll go right ahead and do it. You can't stop me, dad can't stop me. Not one of you can stop me from growing up.  
Steve frowned. "Ain't that the truth!"  
"Uncle Cecil, I think the weather is over."  
"Shi...!" Cecil dashed back into the radio station and apologised for the few seconds of dead air before continuing his show by uploading his recording from the desert. Maureen entered her booth, made _go away_ signals at him. Cecil flipped control of the broadcast over to her and went out. Hiram was outside. His violet head looked at grey, who nodded and faced Cecil.  
 ** _"Cecil, my dear boy, I know who stirred all of this up and she won't get away with it. You don't get to be mayor by force or by fear, I will earn it with money and privilege and generally being a five headed dragon faaar superior to mere humans. I will deal with the Faceless Old Bi..."_**  
"Hiram? I know you have a lot in your schedule right now but could you give me a ride out to the Peters farm? Like, now? Please?"

The door was still there. Carlos and Alisha were waiting like they said they would, playing a game with Alisha's dog that Cecil thought looked pretty dangerous for Carlos. He grinned as they all welcomed him back, including the dog. Carlos hugged him tightly and kissed him.  
"Is everything okay? I think I missed you more because you were just here and then you were gone. I was worried but I checked Janice's Tumblr and saw a picture of Janice, that angry lady in the intern shirt and a baseball bat, with the caption _something to smile about - OUR Voice is on the air._ "  
Cecil hugged Carlos back, arms around his neck and pressing in close, a hand automatically stroking through Carlos's hair.  
"It's under control. Doug is taking Kevin back to Desert Bluffs, the... uh... new management want him for some reason. The Sheriff's Secret Police didn't do a thorough enough job on his re-education, or maybe he can fake it or something. Anyway, he's gone. Hiram is dealing with the Faceless Old Woman, and we are okay. We are okay."  
Alisha signed at Carlos.  
"Alisha is going to carry us back to the lighthouse so we can watch what's happening in the picture frames then they'll return here and wait for Doug. You can fill me in on all the details on the way."  
Alisha grinned behind their mask, swung one man up onto each shoulder, checked their balance and set off at a smooth pace with their dog trotting along beside.

"Thanks, I guess."  
The angel with gold wings poked the prostrate, smiling form with a toe. Doug nodded in both greeting and goodbye.  
"You need anything?"  
Doug shook his head.  
"We could take you back to the door, or, like, whatever. No trouble."  
Doug thought about how the rocky desert hurt his feet, about how tired he felt and how he missed Alisha and their pets, the dog and the odd little man, how he longed for the feel of soft, smooth sand on his toes. He nodded. The shiny gold-feathered angel and the raven iridescent one who was almost as tall as a giant masked warrior each touched him. He blinked and saw a brown field and an oak door that led home.


	6. Ending

Cecil gaped at all the picture frames and the images they contained.  
"Carlos? This is so NEAT! I mean in a totally journalistic sense, I would of course not normally be interested in the trivial little things people are doing but OH MY GLOWING CLOUD I JUST SAW... I mean, ahem, for the sake of a hypothetical future news broadcast it might be useful for me to know that..."  
"...and from a purely scientific perspective the images are very useful. Oh! Is that Janice?"  
Cecil peered at the frame Carlos pointed out and laughed.  
"Yes. That's our Janice all right. Steve is putting her to bed and talking to her.Urgh, do these have audio?"  
Carlos shook his head. Sometimes I come up here when your show is on and look for you. I can hear your voice and see you at the same time. It's weird though, listening to you do the community calendar all serious as I watch you set your dinner on fire."  
"Hey! There was just that ONE time and you had to see it." Cecil laughed. "It's compulsive viewing. Oh, there's Dana! She works so hard."  
They studied the frames, finding people they knew then people they recognised and finally finding each other. Cecil laced his fingers between Carlos's and leaned against him.  
"The frames are one way, right? I mean, they can't see us, can they?" 

Carlos shook his head. "No, they are not even in quite the same time frame. These pictures could be today or next week or yesterday for all we know. When you go back, I want you to have the date and time somewhere prominent near you so I can compare. You know..."  
"...science!"  
They both laughed, leaning against each other as the light gradually faded.  
"This is great! Cecil, come out onto the balcony. We can watch the stars for a while. They slide and spiral when you're not looking and rearrange the constellations. It's awesome!"  
Carlos led Cecil out by the hand and they sat on the balcony surrounding the room at the top of the lighthouse. They tried both staring up for as long as possible before blinking, timing their eye movements so that the sky was always observed by at least one of them, yet the stars still gave them the slip.  
Carlos turned to Cecil, holding his hand and rubbing over Cecil's knuckles with gentle fingers.  
"Can you see yet why I find this place so fascinating? I can only think of one thing that would make it better."  
"Oh? What's that?"  
In reply, Carlos leaned over and kissed Cecil. Cecil stood up, offered a hand to help Carlos up and led him back into the lighthouse. The frames were dim and still as Cecil and Carlos undressed each other slowly and silently, letting their clothing collect on the sandy floor. 

They woke in light. Cecil sprawled half over Carlos with his head on one shoulder and his hand on the other, one leg wrapped across Carlos's thighs. He stroked the hand down Carlos's chest, fiddling with the hair on his chest and stomach until Carlos started to squirm and giggle and retaliate.  
They called truce with a kiss.  
"Mmm. I want to make you coffee. Habit, I guess."  
"I miss your coffee. Carlos coffee is the best."  
"Cecil? Have you gone back to that nasty instant shit?"  
"No-o-o..."  
"Liar! I bet you have. Cecil, I want you to promise to look after yourself better." 

They got up, dressed and went back down to Carlos's little camp to pick up some science equipment.  
"There were some deposits near the door that I want another look at. Do you mind coming on a science expedition with me? I could show you how to excavate fossils if you like."  
"Carlos, you know I'm really into science these days."  
They laughed at themselves.  
"We need some new jokes."  
"Neat!"  
"Scientifically speaking!"  
"I miss our most intellectual exchanges." 

They walked and talked. Carlos explained his latest hypothesis about the door.  
"It appeared because of Kevin. Kevin does not belong here in this dimension, he belongs in the same reality as Night Vale. He used an old oak door to appear in your studio and Steve pushed him back through the same door. As long as Kevin was stuck in the desert there would be a chance of a door appearing in his vicinity. It's just that you found it first and came through to visit me."  
Cecil frowned. "So if Steve hadn't thrown Kevin back, there would not have been a door at all?"  
"That's what I think. But now Kevin is not here, he's back in Desert Bluffs, there is only you keeping the door stable. When you go home, I think the door will vanish. There will be no further need for a door between this reality and ours. Yours."  
"But I went through before and came back okay!"  
"Remember when I grabbed you when you went for Steve? I wanted Doug to go through first so there would be at least one being out of place, in the wrong reality. As long as Doug left before you and came back after, you could come back. The door would remain."  
"Ah." Cecil sighed. "I see." 

They walked in silence for a long time, staring at the featureless sand and the curving horizon. Carlos stopped and pulled Cecil into a hug as they drew near the door.  
"It's just a hypothesis. Not even a theory yet. Insufficient valid data."  
"It gives me something to think about. I can choose to go home and the door, all the doors, might vanish forever. Or I can choose to stay and you'll be stuck with me forever because I can't even visit home, I can't ever leave and come back again."  
"And the door might vanish anyway and reappear some other random place. Cecil, I would never ask you to give up Night Vale. It is your whole life! And I won't ask Night Vale to be without you either. You're their voice and you're good at it. The best! The door won't let me pass because Night Vale is not my reality any more than this desert is. But somewhere there must be a way back to whatever plane of existence the universe thinks _is_ my home and perhaps I can find Night Vale again from there. I did it before. I don't know how, but I found Night Vale once. I can do it again. The more I study this dimension, the more I know about travel between dimensions, the more chance I have of finding the one that feels like home, even if the universe disagrees."  
Cecil almost shouted.  
"Well the universe is wrong. You belong in Night Vale!" 

Carlos held Cecil, kissed him, turned so that Cecil's back faced the door.  
"I love you Cecil, always remember that. Right from that moment I called you up to talk about time and clocks and you just said..."  
"Neat! Oh I was so embarrassed! I really wanted to impress the gorgeous, genius scientist and all I could think of was _neat!"_  
They both laughed. Carlos kissed Cecil again as the door opened behind him and a figure waved.  
"I'm sorry, Cecil."  
"What?"  
Carlos pushed Cecil hard and he stumbled backwards through the door into Steve's arms.  
Carlos stared for a moment at the shimmering patch of air, picked up his bag of tools and trudged towards his camp. 

Carlos composed an email in his head for hours before taking out his phone. There were no messages.  
 _Hi Cecil, I expect you're pretty mad at me. I'm sorry. I love you and I miss you more than ever. Pushing you back through that door and seeing it vanish was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I need to know that you are keeping Night Vale safe. Safe-ish anyway. I need to know that you are likely to be there when I find Night Vale again. I have no idea how long that will take. There must be a door or something near me, connecting to my own reality. I will find it, I promise. I will find a way back. Carlos x_  
He read it through and hit send. His phone buzzed again almost immediately. Carlos sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before confirming his hypothesis further. 

_message undeliverable - error - recipient does not exist_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even sorry.


End file.
